Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California
My mother, who was preceded in death by my father, passed away a week ago. There are two surviving children. She had a POD for her investment account distributed 50/50 between my sister and I. I had TOD on the pink slip of her car, to me and I had added my name to her bank accounts a couple months ago. The only outstanding assets are the contents of the house (no big valued items) and the house itself. The house has a reverse mortgage which has grown to about the value of the home.
I came across a will in looking through a filing cabinet. It states a 50/50 split between my sister and I. If we do not want the house (i.e. walk away and let the reverse mortgage company foreclose; so do not transfer title) do we need to do anything with the will? Would there be any legal ramifications for my sister and I if we just split the contents as discussed with my mother before death and walk away (contact the reverse mortgage company and tell them the house is theirs) and not file the will and go through the California Probate process?
What if I never found (or knew of) the will, would the lawyer with the original copy ever come forth and force the probate process?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Whoever has the original will is supposed to file it with the superior court within thirty days of death. there it sits unless or until someone files a petition to have it admitted into probate.
The will is supposed to be lodged with the court. The original is what gets filed, not a copy. The only legal ramifications would be if you or your sister took property and creditors of the estate were never given notice or there were other beneficiaries who would later complain about your self help.
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